Being “cultured” is not something that is very important to me. Given a book list of the top 100 best books, I will have read maybe 5 – 3 being the simplified version – but I will have at least heard of 75 of them. Poetry, musicals, plays and Shakespeare all say one thing to me: bleh. I have two reasons for dealing with any one of those four items: school requirements and girls. However, if you ask me to name the top 5 summer blockbusters over the last 5 years, I could probably give you a list that far exceeds what you are looking for. If you ever want to know something about sports, I’m your guy. You can imagine the kind of biased precepts I would have had towards World of Dance.
Assuming that I was not excited about World of Dance would not have been much of a stretch given my examples that I have previously shared; sometimes in life, assuming really is not a smart way to go. Being the lucky soul I am, I went to a dance recital in the winter semester earlier this year (yes, it was because of a girl). I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it, so receiving this assignment turned out to be exciting instead of a requirement.
Having enjoyed that last dance recital, I found it easier to stay awake and enjoy this one. The variety of the dances kept everyone looking forward to the next piece. Had all the ballet, the ballroom, the contemporary, and the international pieces been grouped together, it would have made it easier for someone to zone out. The changes in scenery, music, dancers and theme were great for captivating even the most uncultured, unhappy person.
The theatre ballet was familiar, the contemporary, entertaining; the international, educating; the ballroom, inspiring. Each group helped the overall ambiance, and not a one diminished the show as a whole. Whoever was in charge of deciding the order of the dances and groups did a wonderful job in their variation. It definitely was an enjoyable experience.
After walking away content, I wondered what else in life might be worth seeing given a shot. After thinking about it, I may have to go to a dance recital or two per semester. And if those are enjoyable, who is to say I wouldn’t want to start reading more important books, or perhaps take the time to watch Shakespeare? Maybe I should move a little slower, but perhaps there is something to being “cultured” in today’s world.
My introduction was a bit longer than I originally wanted.
ReplyDeleteWhere did this list of top 100 best books come from, meaning where did you get it?
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that this served as a platform for you to feel inclined to delve into other mediums. It's funny how even things you wouldn't want to originally go to may open up your mind to a variety of activities that can be intellectually stimulating and also fun.
ReplyDeleteI love it! The opening is classic, especially about the books you have read. There were some proofreading errors that I would go back and look for, but the voice is definitely yours (I almost intentionally wrote "defiantly" as a shout-out to our Book of Mormon class)!
ReplyDeleteI spotted your application of newly-learned sentence stylings. One did not read very well, though:
"Assuming that I was not excited about World of Dance would not have been much of a stretch given my examples that I have previously shared; sometimes in life, assuming really is not a smart way to go."
I would separate the sentences after "shared"--the humor would be more noticeable.
Great work! I'm glad you enjoyed the show!
The book list I made reference to is from a U.S. History class I had in high school. We got extra credit for reading from it. I only read one of them for said extra credit.
ReplyDeleteMont... thank you for the comments. I agree that the sentence isn't the best. As for the proofreading errors, you might have to point those out to me too, or I may not find them. And even though the voice may be mine, is it acceptable enough for rhetorical writing? Are there some tweaks I could make?
Like you going into the performance i was not all that eager or excited, but as the show went on i learned to appreciate it more and more. Great paper.
ReplyDeleteThere's a huge Choral performance this week! I'm just kidding. Though I share your feelings about the entire thing. Dance is not my favorite but they did such a great job! All the dances were well done, exciting (mostly) but I even was okay with some of the ballet.
ReplyDelete